The Beauty Ed®’s Note: The advent calendar trend is huge and the market is saturated, so it’s so helpful to get this honest review from Gia 🪭 Enjoy!
As a committed K-beauty devotee, LOOKFANTASTIC’s first-ever K-Beauty Advent Calendar immediately caught my attention, arriving just as the pre-Christmas beauty frenzy begins to gather pace. Korean beauty has become such a fixture in our routines that opening a different K-beauty favourite each day feels, frankly, like a rather good way to count down to Christmas.
The calendar was kindly gifted to me by PR for review, but, as always, every opinion below is entirely my own. I’ve tested the products as I would anything I buy myself, and picked out the ones I’d genuinely want to keep using beyond December.
LOOKFANTASTIC K-Beauty Advent Calendar brings together 13 products across 12 boxes, spanning some of the biggest names in Korean skincare and beauty, including LANEIGE, Medicube, Biodance and Beauty of Joseon. There’s a mixture of full-size and miniature products, making it a particularly easy way to discover some of the brands that have become synonymous with the K-beauty boom.
Worth over £140 and priced at £50, it offers a chance to try a sizeable selection without buying each product individually. But, of course, the real question is whether what’s inside is actually worth getting excited about.
What’s Inside the LOOKFANTASTIC K-Beauty Advent Calendar?
Across the 12 boxes is a mix of Korean skincare, haircare and make-up, covering everything from SPF and cleansing to exfoliation, barrier care and overnight hydration. Here’s what you’ll find inside:
Anua Zero-Cast Moisturising Finish Sunscreen, Full Size
A daily SPF 50 with a moisturising finish that is designed to blend in without leaving a white cast. The formula contains glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, making this an easy one to squeeze into a morning routine.
2.Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Ceramide Barrier Moisturising Cream, Mini (15ML)
A rich moisturiser centred around a five-ceramide complex, fermented black rice and bamboo shoot bark extract. It is designed with barrier support and hydration in mind, and is particularly appealing if your skin tends to be dry.
3.LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask, Mini (10ML)
One of LANEIGE’s best-known products, this overnight mask has a lightweight water-gel texture and is designed to replenish moisture while you sleep.
4.SKIN1004 Centella Ampoule, Full Size (55ML)
A simple, lightweight ampoule centred around Centella Asiatica, an ingredient widely used in Korean skincare for its soothing properties. It absorbs quickly and makes an easy addition to a routine when you want something hydrating without a heavy texture.
5. Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Cleanser, (40 ML)
A gentle foaming cleanser formulated with deep-sea water. It removes everyday impurities and excess oil while aiming to leave the skin comfortable rather than tight after cleansing.
6. Aromatica Rosemary Scalp Scrub, Mini (30g)
An exfoliating treatment for the scalp, designed to remove excess oil and product build up. The rosemary formula gives the scalp a deeper cleanse than shampoo alone and can be used every few weeks as part of a more thorough hair-washing routine.
7. Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0, Full Size
These exfoliating toner pads combine fruit-derived AHAs with salicylic acid, a BHA. Because they contain two types of exfoliating acid, I would use these sparingly, around two times a week rather than daily, particularly if your skin is sensitive or prone to dryness!
8. Biodance Bio Collagen Real Deep Sheet Mask
A collagen and hyaluronic acid sheet mask designed to sit on the skin for much longer than the usual 10-to-20-minute treatment. Biodance recommends leaving it on until the mask becomes translucent; I personally prefer around three hours when I have the time.
9. Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum Ginseng + Retinal, Full Size
A targeted eye serum designed to improve the appearance of fine lines and uneven texture around the eyes, making it one of the more treatment-led products.
10. INNISFREE Green Tea Hyaluronic Serum, Mini (10ML)
A lightweight hydrating serum combining green tea with hyaluronic acid. This is an easy one for dry or dehydrated skin, particularly when you want to add hydration without making your routine feel heavier.
11. INNISFREE Green Tea Ceramide Milk, Mini (15ML)
A milky moisturiser that combines green tea with ceramides for hydration and barrier support. Its fluid texture makes it particularly easy to layer into a longer skincare routine.
12. TOCOBO Glass Tinted Lip Balm in 013 Tangerine Red, Full Size
A glossy tinted balm with a sheer wash of Tangerine Red. The formula contains oils including jojoba, sunflower and olive, while the melting texture gives it that easy, glide-on feel I particularly liked.
13. ISNTREE GIM PDRN Firming Cream, Full Size
A moisturising cream containing PDRN. It is designed around hydration and a firmer-looking complexion, and turned out to be one of my personal favourites from the calendar.
Review: My Top K-Beauty Picks Tested
To see how some of the products performed beyond a first impression, I took my picks from the calendar to my monthly facial and asked my therapist to use them throughout the treatment.
1. ROUND LAB 1025 DOKDO CLEANSER
Despite the rather extensive collection of cleansers I’ve accumulated over the years, I had never actually tried a foaming cleanser. I’d seen them repeatedly in K-beauty routines and during facials, so when the Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Cleanser arrived, I had fairly high expectations.
I had already come across quite a bit of discussion around this cleanser online, particularly among K-beauty lovers drawn to its simple formula and use of mineral-rich deep seawater. The formula is unscented and contains seawater alongside hydrating ingredients including hyaluronic acid, glycerin and ceramide NP; the deep seawater itself naturally contains minerals such as magnesium and calcium, which Round Lab says help maintain the skin’s moisture balance.
During my facial, the therapist applied only a small amount of the cleanser to my skin and, with a little water, its balm-like texture quickly worked into a rich foam. Watching it transform was perhaps my favourite part of the treatment, but the sensation was even better: it felt remarkably gentle and soothing on my skin, particularly compared with some of the harsher foaming cleansers I’ve tried in the past. It would make an excellent first step in a double cleanse, and after trying it for myself, I’d happily repurchase it.
2. TOCOBO GLASS TINTED LIP BALM
I love the texture of this balm. It feels remarkably light on the lips and melts in almost immediately. I’m particularly fond of a pigmented balm, and this one gives a beautiful sheer wash of rosy red while leaving behind a glossy finish.
It contains jojoba seed oil, alongside sunflower and olive oils, which help give it that soft, nourishing feel. But it’s the texture that really won me over: it glides across the lips so seamlessly and never feels thick or sticky.
3. ISNTREE GIM PDRN
I’d never used a skincare product containing PDRN before, but as the ingredient becomes increasingly hard to miss across the beauty industry and on social media, I was particularly keen to see what the hype was about.
PDRN, short for polydeoxyribonucleotide, refers to purified DNA fragments and has traditionally been derived from salmonid sources, including salmon and trout. Yes, you read that correctly: 🐟 sperm. It has been studied for its potential role in skin repair and regeneration, although much of the established research relates to medical and aesthetic applications, with research into topical skincare still developing.
I really enjoyed this cream. It is now part of my evening routine, largely because of the finish it leaves behind. My skin looked noticeably fresher and more luminous after using it, and I ended up receiving several compliments from friends about how ‘glassy’ my complexion looked, admittedly one of the most overused words in beauty at the moment, but rather fitting here!
4. HARUHARU WONDER 5 CERAMIDE BARRIER MOISTURISING CREAM
I loved this cream for how rich it feels. You only need a small amount, and I’ve been using it every morning, particularly loving how it makes my skin feel wrapped up and properly nourished. It has that luxurious, cocooning quality that I really want from a moisturiser, especially in the winter.
The formula combines five ceramides with fermented black rice and bamboo shoot bark extract, but honestly, it’s the texture that was the most impressive. It feels rich without sitting heavily on my skin and leaves me with a soft, healthy-looking glow.
My Verdict: Is the LOOKFANTASTIC K-Beauty Advent Calendar Worth It?
After trying the calendar for myself, I think it makes a lovely introduction to K-beauty, particularly if you’re not quite sure where to start. There’s a good selection of skincare, haircare and make-up, with a mixture of full-size and mini products that lets you discover some of the brands and formulas that have made K-beauty such a phenomenon.
It would also make a thoughtful gift for a K-beauty lover, and I actually like the idea of splitting the products up and using the smaller ones as stocking fillers.
At £50, with the contents worth over £140, I think there’s plenty here to make the calendar feel worthwhile. If I could have added anything, it would have been a little more from LANEIGE; I love the brand, so I was hoping to see another product and perhaps a full-size Water Sleeping Mask. But that is a very small wish list for what is otherwise a really well-rounded selection.
Most importantly, I’ve genuinely continued using several of the products after testing them for this review, which for me is always the real test. If you’re looking to discover K-beauty, or know someone who is, this is a great place to start!